


i thank the oceans (for giving me you)

by bananaaaasay



Series: titles [1]
Category: Powerpuff Girls
Genre: Crying, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Gen, How Do I Tag, I really tried, Other, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, babies cry for no reason, buttercup being a great mom, fight me on this, their kid is an angel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24643297
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bananaaaasay/pseuds/bananaaaasay
Summary: In which Buttercup and Butch attempt to calm down their hysterical three-year-old and realize that parenting is confusing and hard, no matter how sweet their little boy is.
Relationships: Boomer & Bubbles Utonium, Boomer/Bubbles Utonium, Brick & Blossom Utoniu, Brick/Blossom Utonium, Butch & Buttercup Utonium, Butch/Buttercup Utonium, Mike Believe/Robin Snyder
Series: titles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1861483
Comments: 2
Kudos: 44





	i thank the oceans (for giving me you)

**Author's Note:**

> song: hesitate –jonas brothers  
> disclaimer: neither the song nor the characters belong to me; they belong to their respective owners, i'm merely using them to hopefully create something people will enjoy.

"Mama?"

Buttercup closed the closet door and put the pair of jeans she had in her hands on the bed. Bending down, she smiled at her three-year-old.

"Baby, what are you doing up? Nap time isn't over yet."

Bryce pouted and clutched her green blanket to his face, inching closer to his mom and hugging her neck. "'m not sleepy."

Buttercup sighed, before scooping him up and heading back towards the bed. Sitting down, she felt small fingers touch the ends of her high (but incredibly messy because of all the work she's been doing around the house) ponytail, so she pulled her hair out of the tie and allowed Bryce to play with her hair.

"Honey... Bryce baby, what is it? Are you okay?" Buttercup felt him clutch at her hair tightly before burying his face into her neck.

She tried to pull him away to get a look at his face, but he refused to be moved. Stroking his hair, Buttercup rocked back and forth in attempt to lull him back to sleep, but instead his tiny body shook with one –albeit concealed– sob, and she felt him trembling against her neck a second before his tears started to soak up her shirt.

"Hey... hey baby, no no, shh, it's okay, I got you, mama's got you, you're okay, shh." But her comforting seemed to achieve the exact opposite and he started to sob even more.

"Ma-maa!" Bryce hiccupped, clutching at her even more. Buttercup stood up, and held him tight against her body, shushing him and stroking his hair, but even then, Bryce didn’t seem to register her words and his sobbing grew louder. 

"Don't, d-don't goo!" His sobbing grew louder, and Buttercup rubbed his back, but nothing she did helped, and she didn't know what to do. Perhaps it was a stroke of luck that the door clicked open and Butch strolled in, suit jacket tossed over one shoulder and sleeves rolled up to his forearms due to the heat.

"I'm home! Brick called and said that Bubs and Boom already came- hey, hey, hey what's wrong? What happened?"

Butch put his jacket and bag on the floor near the door and walked over to where Buttercup had sunk to back on the bed, trying to calm her hysterical three-year-old, to no avail.

"Sunshine, baby, hey, what is it? Bryce bud, what happened? What's wrong?"

Buttercup looked up at him, eyes desperate. "I-I don't know... He just came to me and started crying... Butch, I-"

But Bryce cut her off, crying even louder and clutching at Buttercup's neck even more. Buttercup winced but continued to whisper in his ear in attempt to calm him down. Butch sat down next to her and tried to pry Bryce's tiny fists away from her neck, which accomplished nothing, and Bryce just clutched even more.

Buttercup let out a soft ‘ouch’ that made Bryce freeze. He pulled away from her neck, tear stains on his cheeks, eyes puffy, and lips trembling.

"I-I'm hurt-ing," he hiccupped, "ma-ma?" His green eyes filled up with tears once more and brought his balled-up fists to his eyes, sobbing, this time no longer clutching at Buttercup. Buttercup's eyes widened and regret flooded throughout her body, she put her hand on her baby's head and pulled him closer to her, but he shook his head and cried even louder.

Butch rubbed circles on Bryce's back, locking eyes with Buttercup and sharing a worried look with her. Buttercup shook her head.

"Honey... baby, Bryce, you're not hurting mama, okay? Please baby, tell me what's wrong... what happened?" Buttercup tried again, but nothing seemed to work, and he just kept on sobbing.

A few minutes passed, and miraculously, Bryce started to calm down, and he pulled away to rest his head against her collarbone instead of her neck. 

Butch smiled slightly and inched closer to them, leaning down so he was eye-to-eye with Bryce. Rubbing his three-year-old's head, Butch kissed his temple.

"Hey buddy, you okay now?" Butch's voice sounded softer, as it was normally when it came to Bryce. "What happened bud?"

Bryce rubbed at his eyes and swallowed. He straightened his back and looked at his dad, pouting and sniffing.

"Mama's- mama's not gonna l-leave... right?"

Buttercup felt her heart break and she fought down against the lump in her throat, she gripped Bryce closer to her.

"Leave where, baby? I'm not going anywhere." Buttercup pulled him into her lap and he looked up at her, green eyes wide and lips still in a pout.

"Real-ly? Mama's- mama's gonna stay-y?" His voice broke at the end and Buttercup hugged him closer, Butch moving to sit even closer to them.

"No-no, baby, mama's gonna stay with you, okay? She's gonna stay with you, bud." Butch chanced a smile when Bryce turned to look at him.

"A-nd dad? You're-you're-" Bryce's breath got caught in his throat and for a second they thought he was going to start crying again, but he swallowed and that was it.

"You're g-gonna stay, too?" Butch leaned in and kissed the top of his head, before pulling away and smiling once more.

"Yep, I'm gonna stay with you until you're yelling at me to leave you alone!" Butch's smile widened when Bryce's pout turned into a small frown and his eyebrows furrowed.

"I-I won't..." Bryce mumbled into Buttercup's arm, where he decided to bury his face.

Buttercup rubbed his head and kissed his temple, "Won't what, baby?"

Bryce sniffed and pulled away from Buttercup. "Won't ask... you to leave..."

Butch looked at Buttercup, only to see her holding back tears and looking at Bryce's head, who had buried his face in her chest.

"I don't-" Bryce started again, voice muffled, "I wanna stay with-with you guys, don't leave..." Butch leaned against the headboard and pulled Buttercup against his side, wrapping his arms around his wife and son.

"Oh baby, we’re not gonna leave you any time soon." Buttercup sagged against him and let out a sigh, before pulling Bryce closer to her.

Bryce mumbled an answer, but neither could hear it because of the phone ring that suddenly blared from Butch's pocket. Bryce jumped and turned to stare at Butch, wide-eyed. Butch pulled out his phone,  _'Brick'_ flashing on the screen for a moment before he silenced it and threw it away.

Bryce swallowed and kept his eyes trained on the phone, but soon enough, his body relaxed in his mother's lap and she felt his eyes close against her collarbone. Deep breaths followed soon after and Bryce was asleep.

Standing up slowly, as to not wake the slumbering three-year-old, Buttercup motioned for Butch to pull the covers of the bed so she can set Bryce down. After covering him with the blankets and kissing his temple, Buttercup sat next to him and stroked his hair slowly.

Buttercup stood up and headed for the bathroom to freshen up, making sure Bryce was tucked in.

Butch followed her in the bathroom and hugged her waist from behind. Buttercup turned around and wrapped her arms around his middle, burying her face into his chest.

"Am I... am I doing a bad job? Why does he think that? I mean- I know I'm not the best mom, but I-" Butch shushed her, pulling her face away from his chest and cupping the side of her face.

"Sunshine, Buttercup baby, you are the best mom, okay? But you know children, it might've been a nightmare, okay? Don't blame yourself, Sunshine."

Buttercup pouted and Butch was struck with how similar his wife and son looked at the moment. Smiling, he leaned down to kiss her pout away and when he pulled away Buttercup was smiling slightly, which he took as a good sign.

"What... I don't want my baby to feel like that, y'know? He's everything to me, why would I ever wanna leave him?" Buttercup sighed and hugged him tighter, relishing in the warmth of her husband.

"We can ask him directly, but before that, I think we should start getting ready before Brick and Blossom eat our heads," he paused, kissing her temple like he did with Bryce, and pulling her out of his embrace, "y'know how they get with these things, and we've already skipped last month's dinner."

"Yeah... okay I'll go get ready before Bryce wakes up again," Buttercup kissed his cheek and walked out of the bathroom, Butch following behind her.

Quietly getting ready, the couple kept an eye out for any movement from their three-year-old, but Bryce didn't wake up. After Buttercup finished fixing her hair, she turned to the door and went to her son's room, grabbing his already ironed clothes and walking back to the master bedroom.

Placing the shirt and pants slowly on the edge of the bed, Buttercup walked towards where Bryce was sleeping and sat down next to him. Gently, she shook him awake, and Bryce sat up, rubbing at his eyes and yawning.

"Morning baby," Buttercup laughed at his sleepy state and rubbing his head, Bryce smiled, his bright green eyes still close, "c'mon we need to get you ready for dinner at Aunt Blossom's."

Bryce crawled until he was able to reach the edge, where he slowly climbed down and stood on shaky legs, staring up at her with half-lidded eyes.

Buttercup got him ready while Butch took a quick shower, and once he was done, she scooped him up and went into the bathroom, gently washing his face from sleep and tear stains.

"Oh baby... your eyes are all puffy..." Buttercup kissed the top of his head and Bryce snuggled closer to her, closing his eyes.

"You ready babe?" Butch peeked in from the room, smiling at them.

"Yeah, can you get his shoes please? They're by his door." Butch nodded and turned away, heading towards said door. A couple of minutes later the small family of three were standing by the door. Buttercup put Bryce down to wrap him up in his coat and scarf, not keen on him catching a cold.

Once she and Butch put on their coats, Buttercup felt a tug at her jeans and looked down at Bryce, who had his arms stretched out. Buttercup smiled and reached for her baby, placing him on her hip and motioning for Butch to open the door.

"You feeling better baby?" Butch turned around and leaned to kiss his head, and Bryce, in turn, stretched out his arms to his dad, to which Butch smiled and obliged him, walking towards the car. After buckling Bryce in his car seat, Buttercup and Butch sat in front, but did not miss the way their son's eyes followed their every movement.

Buttercup fastened her seatbelt before turning around and smiling at Bryce, who hesitantly smiled back at her, and leaned forwards to hold her extended hand.

After a couple of minutes, Butch pulled up in Brick and Blossom's driveway, noting the three cars in the driveway, meaning that both Boomer, Bubbles, Mike and Robin are there, with their herd of children, and that they're probably late. Butch cringed, they would not hear the end of it. But when he saw the way his son started to smile at him, Butch threw the thought out of his head. It didn't matter if they would get mad, his son was not feeling well, so sue them if they were a bit late.

Buttercup shifted Bryce on her hip and walked next to Butch towards the door, ringing the bell, and before long, they heard the telltale pitter-patter of tiny feet running towards the door.

Once the door was pulled open, they were met with pink and red eyes and two sets of blue eyes. Butch smiled and leaned down, when all four children decided it was a good idea to throw themselves at him.

"Woah! Didn't know you lot missed me this much." Butch laughed, adjusting the weight of the four kids. Brianna, Brick and Blossom's eldest, and the eldest grandchild, at the ripe age of ten, pouted up at her uncle.

"You didn't come last time! It's not fair! We missed you!" There was a chorus of agreement from the other kids, and Buttercup smiled before she saw Blossom rush towards the door and usher them in, berating her eldest and Blake, her six-year-old, for not letting them in before.

"Brianna! What did we say about jumping on guests when they come?" Blossom's authority was honestly something to behold, especially when it was not directed at her, Buttercup snickered.

"Not to do it..." Brianna sighed and moved out of the way, Buttercup smiled and greeted her sister, who immediately started cooing at Bryce. Bryce, in turn, buried himself into his mother's neck and refused to look at anyone. Blossom smiled softly, "It's a wonder you two made the sweetest angel on the planet, he really  is too shy."

Buttercup put Bryce on the ground, where he eyed all the kids –all older than him by at least three years– and clutched at his mother's pants. Buttercup took off her coat and handed it to Butch, who hanged it on the hanger and leaned down to his son's level.

"Hey bud, why don't you come with me? Give mama a break maybe?" But Bryce's eyes widened and filled up with tears at the suggestions immediately, so Buttercup slapped her husband's head and leaned down to carry Bryce once more.

"It's fine baby, mama doesn't need a break, right  dad ?" She threw him a dark glare which made Butch gulp and smile uneasily. 

Brick joined them then and stood next to Blossom, raising an eyebrow at Butch; Bryce buried his face into his mother's neck once more and refused to move.

"What did you do now?" Brick smirked, but Butch grunted and ignored him.

Blossom ushered them all inside, where, like he expected, Boomer, Bubbles, Mike and Robin were sitting in the living room, chatting amiably. Bubbles turned around almost immediately and jumped up, hugging Buttercup (and, in Bryce, who still refused to move).

"Oh! Buttercup! I missed you so so much! Awh hi Bryce! How are you honey?" Bubbles' happy demeanor did not ease up Bryce's mood and he didn't acknowledge her either.

"I'm fine Bubbles, bit of a rough day though." Buttercup sighed, stroking her son's hair and adjusting him on her hip once more.

"Oh, is Bryce alright? He seemed more hesitant than usual, and his eyes did look a bit puffy, what happened?" Blossom's eyebrows furrowed, before a frown took over her features and she yelled for Blake to get off of the table.

Robin stood up and approached them, smiling at Buttercup and Butch. "Emma really missed him last time, so glad you guys could make it today!"

Emma was Robin and Mike's only daughter and, like Bryce, three-years-old. She was the only one Bryce didn't mind playing with, despite the fact that she was extremely loud and smiley all the time.

Robin and Mike's other child, James, was six years old and got on so well with the rest of this kids, except Bryce. Buttercup lost counts 

At the mention of Emma's name, Bryce chanced a look at Robin. Who smiled at him knowingly and motioned behind her, where Emma was playing with herself on the carpeted floor of the living room. Bryce turned his face to stare at Robin, then he slid down his mother’s leg and landed on the floor, where he started making his way over to Emma. As soon as he approached her, she looked up at him from where she was sitting and smiled a big, toothy grin. 

“Hi Bryth!” She giggled, her lisp making Bryce smile a bit, “Come!” Bryce sat down in front of her and they started playing, his smile growing steadily the longer he played with her. Buttercup smiled, glad that his mood seemed to improve. 

After the table was set and the food was ready (courtesy of Brick), Blossom started calling for the children to come get their fill while the parents sat on the table. All the kids came running, except two. 

Brian, Boomer and Bubbles’ eldest at nine-years-old, came rushing to the table, his seven-year-old twin sisters, Beatrice and Brooke, along with Brianna, behind him. They took their plates from their parents and walked back to where they were supposed to sit and eat. James and Blake ran into kitchen, freezing in their place when they met Brick and Mike’s cold glares. 

Buttercup looked down when she felt a tug on her pants, only to be met with bright green eyes and a blinding smile from her three-year-old. Buttercup’s heart soared when she saw how happy Bryce looked, so she leaned down to his level and he threw himself at her.

“Hey baby, feeling better?” Buttercup laughed, kissing his temple when he nodded against her neck. Before she was able to, Bryce pulled away, eyes lit with excitement.

“Mhm! ‘m really hungry.”

Standing up, Buttercup took his hand and walked towards the table, sitting next to Butch and scooping some mashed potatoes for Bryce to eat in a plate.

**_-o-_ **

“You would’ve thought they’d never get tried,” Mike sighed, dropping next to Robin on the couch, glancing at the sleeping figures of James, Blake, and Brian on the floor.

“Oh hush, stop whining,” Robin chided him, slapping his arm softly, as to not wake up Emma, who fell asleep on her lap not too long ago.

Buttercup adjusted Bryce, who had also fallen asleep with his head on her lap the second he finished playing with Emma. Sighing softly, she stroked his hair. When she looked up, Butch stood in front of her, handing her a cup of hot chocolate.

“Thanks.” Buttercup mumbled, sipping at the hot drink.

Butch dropped next to her, accidently waking Bryce up. The kid blinked blearily up at his dad and crawled until he was sitting in his mother’s lap properly, head buried in her chest. Buttercup kissed the top of his head and took another sip.

“Sorry big guy.” Butch smiled at Bryce, who peeked at him and smiled sleepily.

Bryce fisted his hand in his mother’s hair, his other reaching out to hug his mother’s neck, nuzzling his face into Buttercup’s neck once more.

“Brianna careful honey, it’s hot,” Blossom’s tired voice called out from the kitchen, slowly making her way to sit next to Brick. He smiled up at her and shifted so she could sit next to him.

Brianna smiled cheekily up at her mom and sat down next to the twins on the floor, who were sipping their hot cocoa as well.

Bubbles turned to look at Buttercup after she made sure that the three boys on the floor were covered in a blanket. Smiling at the adorable picture she and her son made, Bubbles sat down next to Boomer.

“Bryce really is a mama’s boy, isn’t he?” Bubbles giggled, leaning into Boomer’s side, raising an eyebrow at Buttercup.

“Like you wouldn’t know,” Butch said, laughing when Bryce whined, pouting up at him.

“’m not a mama’s boy,” Bryce muttered, but did not move from his mother’s lap. Buttercup smiled down at him.

“It’s not a bad thing buddy,” Butch laughed. Buttercup moved the cup away from his prying hands when Bryce attempted to reach for it. He whined again, stretching his arms more. “Stop that, it’s hot, you’ll burn your tongue.”

“I want hot cocoaaa!” Bryce whined again, eyebrows furrowing, and lips pulled in a frown.

“He can have some of mine! It’s already cooled down if you want Auntie!” Brianna smiled at her from where she was sitting on the floor before standing up and walking over to Buttercup.

Handing her cup to Butch, she took the cup from the ten-year-old’s hands and raised it to Bryce’s lips, who held onto the cup and took a sip, before pulling away, grimacing.

“Blegh, it’s not like mama’s cocoa,” he pushed the cup away from him, gagging.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and handed the cup back to Brianna. Taking her cup back from Butch, she offered the three-year-old a sip from it. Blossom glanced at Bryce, who started drinking from the cup without gagging.

“Why didn’t you didn’t tell me he liked his cocoa with extra milk like you did?” Blossom smiled, then steadied Brianna who almost tripped on the carpet, “I would’ve made him some.”

“He takes two sips then he’s done with it,” Buttercup sighed, and, as if on cue, Bryce pushed the cup away, “it’d be a waste honestly.”

Wiping at his mouth, Bryce leaned against his mother again. Butch laughed lightly and patted his head.

**_-o-_ **

An hour later found Bryce asleep in Butch’s arms, after Buttercup moved him to grab the cups and help Blossom and Robin clean up the mess in the living room. All the kids had fallen asleep on the floor –with the exception of Bryce and Emma, who were in their parent’s laps, and Brianna, who refused to fall asleep before everyone left—where Bubbles draped on them several blankets to keep them warm.

After the cups had been taken care of and the room was semi-clean, Buttercup made her way back to where Butch was sitting. He glanced up at her.

“He’s been dozing off for a while now,” Butch adjusted Bryce, who blinked his eyes blearily and hugged his dad’s neck, falling back asleep, “plus it’s way past his bedtime.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, turning around to face Blossom, “I think we’re gonna head out now.”

“You better not skip next month’s dinner,” Blossom smiled teasingly. Buttercup stuck out her tongue in response.

A course of ‘good-byes’ and ‘bye-byes’ and the couple and their child were on their way home. In a couple of minutes, they reached their destination. Butch carried Bryce inside, who was still asleep, and headed straight for his room.

After Buttercup dressed Bryce in his pajamas, she tucked him in bed and lay next to him on top of the covers. A couple of minutes later, Butch stepped inside, to find his wife and son fast asleep on the tiny bed.

Shaking Buttercup awake, he smiled softly, “C’mon babe, he’s asleep.”

Slowly, she sat up and moved towards the door, shoulders sagged in exhaustion. Changing into more comfortable clothes to sleep in, Buttercup slid next to Butch, who wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

About half an hour later, when both the parents were asleep, Buttercup was shook awake by a small hand on her cheek. Blinking, she saw Bryce’s green eyes staring at her. Smiling, Buttercup sat up and opened her arms, and, as if on cue, he crawled into them, nuzzling her neck.

“Hey baby, everything okay?” She whispered, kissing his head.

“Wanna sleep here…” Bryce yawned, closing his eyes.

“Whatcha doin’ up buddy?” Butch’s groggy voice startled them both, and he laughed, before pulling them down so that Bryce was sandwiched between them.

“Daaaad,” Bryce laughed, letting go of Buttercup to hug Butch, who kissed his son’s head.

Buttercup smiled at their antics then shushed them, telling them to go back to sleep.

When Bryce’s eyes fluttered shut, and his breathing labored after a couple of minutes, the couple smiled at each other, sighing in relief.

**Author's Note:**

> yikes i have no idea how to end stuff sjsjsj i kinda lost track at the end of it but i think it turned out okay? this idea has been playing around in my head and i really couldnt help myself so excuse me jshs.  
> i just realized how ooc buttercup and butch are in this one, but i like to think that parenthood and marriage changes people? idk lmao  
> also!!! ngl bryce was very heavily based on TeaLovingTooru's bryce who i absolutely adore so credits to her for the idea!  
> (for clarification, butch and buttercup are 29, and bryce is around 3ish.)  
> (also yes, i used a song lyric so sue me, hesitate by the jonas brothers is a masterpiece)
> 
> would love to hear what you thought! please dont hesitate to drop a comment


End file.
